A noun for a “werewolf” (PE17/39; PE19/107; SA/gaur; Ety/ÑGAW), as opposed to a more ordinary wolf which would be [N.] garaf or draug. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. gaur was derived from the root ᴹ√ÑGAW “howl” (Ety/ÑGAW), and a similar derivation appeared in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the 1950s (PE19/106-107), but in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien said the meaning of its root was “falsify, deform, disguise” (PE17/39).
Sindarin
gaur
noun. werewolf
gaur
noun. werewolf
Cognates
- Q. nauro “werewolf, wolf (not wild wolves)” ✧ PE17/039; PE19/106
Derivations
Element in
- S. Gaurwaith “Wolf-men”
- S. naur dan i ngaurhoth “*fire against the wolf-horde” ✧ LotR/0299; PE17/039
- S. Tol-in-Gaurhoth “Isle of Werewolves” ✧ SA/gaur; UT/054
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √ÑGAW > gaur [ŋgawrō] > [ŋgaurō] > [ŋgauro] > [gauro] > [gaur] ✧ PE17/039
gaur
'false
n. 'false, disguised, deformed', wolf (pl.2 wolf-horde). The form of ngaur in absolute initial position. Q. ñauro. >> ngaur
ngaur
'false
pl2. ngaurhoth n. 'false, disguised, deformed', wolf (pl.2 wolf-horde). gaur in absolute initial position. Q. ñauro. >> hoth
gaurhoth
noun. group of werewolves
gaurwaith
noun. wolf-men
draug
noun. wolf
draug
noun. wolf
A noun for “wolf”, most notably appearing as an element in the name of the great werewolf S. Draugluin. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. draug “wolf” was derived from the root ᴹ√DARAK (Ety/DARÁK).
Element in
- S. Draugluin “*Blue (Were)wolf” ✧ SA/draug
gaur
wolf
(i ngaur = i ñaur), pl. goer (in goer = i ñgoer), coll. pl. gaurhoth (attested in lenited form: i ngaurhoth = i ñaurhoth).
gaur
werewolf
gaur (i ngaur = i ñaur), pl. goer (in goer = i ñgoer), coll. pl. gaurhoth (attested in lenited form: i ngaurhoth, "the [were]wolf-host": gaur + hoth "host")
gaur
werewolf
(i ngaur = i ñaur), pl. goer (in goer = i ñgoer), coll. pl. gaurhoth (attested in lenited form: i ngaurhoth, "the [were]wolf-host": gaur + hoth "host")
gaur
wolf (werewolf)
gaur (i ngaur = i ñaur), pl. goer (in goer = i ñgoer), coll. pl. gaurhoth (attested in lenited form: i ngaurhoth = i ñaurhoth).
garaf
wolf
(i ngaraf = i ñaraf, o n’garaf = o ñgaraf), pl. geraif (in geraif = i ñgeraif), coll. pl. garavath
draug
wolf
1) draug (i dhraug), pl. droeg (in droeg), coll. pl. drogath; 2) garaf (i ngaraf = i ñaraf, o n**garaf = o ñgaraf), pl. geraif (in geraif = i ñgeraif), coll. pl. garavath**, 3)
draug
wolf
(i dhraug), pl. droeg (in droeg), coll. pl. drogath
werewolf